Dormant
by Erilis
Summary: Like a virus in a human, is it possible a previously dormant werewolf can wake again? Can Vaughn control himself? Total JV, 'cuz I'm sappy like that.
1. Virus

**Dormant**

_Disclaimer: I do not own SDaBHH. You should know that._

_Okay, so, my first Strange Days fanfic. Uhh. Enjoy?_

**Chapter 1: Virus**

"What some people don't realize is that a virus can lie dormant in an organism for a long period of time," Professor Z stated as he paced down the aisle between the two rows of desks in the science classroom. His gaze rested upon a few students who seemed not to enjoy this lesson (namely Stu Kubiak) and he frowned. "Some people might not suffer the effects for days, or months, maybe even years." As he started back up the aisle toward his own desk, his hand made contact with a couple of their heads, stirring them immediately.

While most of the class had their little giggles at Stu's abrupt "Take me out, Coach!" Vaughn never even turned his head. The fever hadn't broken yet; he chilled and shivered slightly and, at the same time, felt like he were about to burn right there. He'd kept telling himself it was the flu. It had to be. Please, God, let it be the flu. The flu would've been better than what it was showing itself to be.

His eyes glued to the black surface of the table he sat behind, Vaughn tried to hide the stiffness he experienced. The night before had been so brutal; it couldn't be the flu, but he kept telling himself it was. No, it wasn't, yes it was, no it wasn't...

Please. The flu doesn't drive someone to some kind of panic that could only come from the reawakening of some ancient curse. That panic had been too familiar. He could still recall the first night, that first night, a week after that little... incident.

The two little marks on his arm had scarred over by now, not even terribly noticeable. The night before and even there in the classroom, however, he felt them like they were fresh. The pain tearing through his arm, the feeling of being the victim of a powerful beast that would soon make you just like it was...

Z's voice had droned in his head the rest of the class, and the bell for the next period sounded sharper, clearer than it used to. Great. Just like before, his senses were starting to change. He'd already been able to smell Madison's new perfume from a mile away, now his hearing was enhancing, too. After reflexively holding one hand over one of his ears, he stood, grabbed his things and started out of the room. He didn't get far, since Josie had blocked his path.

"What's your problem?" she asked bluntly, even as other students shoved past (and muttered some rude things under their breath), "You've been acting sick all morning, why don't you just stay in bed?"

"Hey, I might actually care about how I do here," he retorted, since he felt a little snappy, "Besides, what does it matter to you? Why do you care?"

Check-a and-a mate-a. Josie was at a loss for words, so she just groaned, held her books closer, and stormed out.

"You do look a bit unhealthy, Vaughn," Z stated, apparently eavesdropping like every good teacher would. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing, everything's fine." It took quite a bit to resist snapping at Professor Z as well, but he somehow managed. Marshall and Lucas, whom had been standing there watching the two-line argument between the suspected crushes, just shook their heads as Vaughn hurried out. Lucas, in particular, noticed him start for his next class, stop abruptly, then turn toward the hallway his dorm was located.

"I'm not totally sure," Lucas commented under his breath, but resisted the urge to follow and drop his own eaves (don't ask, I like that phrase). "I think he's lying to us. Wouldn't be the first time..."

"Can we not get through a single fanfic without you being suspicious?" Marshall asked, thereby successfully owning Lucas and breaking the fourth wall at the same time. "Come on, we'll be late." Marshall led his friend to their next class, but they left their suspicions with Z. Yes, he actually agreed that Vaughn was acting a tad strange. Maybe he'd investigate later.

---------------

"Dad, can I _please_ come home?" Vaughn begged over the phone in his room, his hand raking through his brown-and-blonde hair in a bit of melodramatic angst. "This is really getting to me. I think... I think _it_ might be coming back..."

"_It_ can't come back, Vaughn," Victor stated firmly in reply. "It stopped years ago. You haven't changed since you were nine."

"Dad, I really think it's coming back..."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well... uh... I've... been feeling kinda sick..."

"Just the flu, Vaughn." At his home, Victor rolled his eyes. Honestly, how could he mistake lycanthropy with having the flu?

"No, it's not," he finally admitted to himself and to his father, "I know it's... that. I feel just like I did when I first started... you know..."

"Changing is _not _a curse word, Vaughn."

If it weren't for the simple fact that Vaughn _severely disliked_ the process of changing, he would have agreed with Victor. "Dad, I _know_ it's back. I can feel it. I'm... I'm a werewolf again..."

"No, you're not." His father's voice seemed more like he were trying to convince himself. Perhaps the thought of having a werewolf son made him a little antsy. Maybe he thought it would tarnish his reputation. Maybe he was genuinely concerned and didn't want Vaughn to suffer it again. Vaughn really couldn't tell.

"Look, tomorrow's a full moon, and-"

"How do you know?"

"I looked it up. Dad, I made sure I knew when it was so I could make sure. So tomorrow's a full moon, and I'm... if I don't change, I'll know. But I'm just..."

"You know it's probably just a figment of your imagination." With that and a click, the conversation ended. So much for a secure shelter.

* * *

_Erilis: More to come, don't worry._

_Diego: I love how you started a completely new story, when there's three others that aren't completed (one hasn't been updated in months). Eh. Read and review._


	2. Suspicion

****

Chapter 2: Suspicion

Despite what his father had said the day before, Vaughn was feeling particularly anxious. That night would be a full moon. If what he thought was correct, he wouldn't be sleeping that night, and he probably wouldn't stay in one place. He had to get out, he had to at least make it to the woods so he could be outside, where no one would see him...

His thoughts were on that subject when Josie caught up with him, clapping her hand on his shoulder (even though it was much higher than her head) and bringing him down a little. "Hey, you feeling any better?" She didn't even wait for him to answer. "Good, 'cuz I think I might've thought of something here. About... you know... _that_."

"How'd you find out about it?" he asked frantically, before hurriedly stammering through an apology and crap excuse. No, in case you're wondering, Josie didn't buy it. She'd figured something was wrong with him in the first place, but that only reaffirmed her stance. I won't even say the excuse he gave, it was so much full of bull.

"You... sure you're feeling okay?" she asked, after he'd finally stopped spouting the fake excuse. "You've been acting weird for the past couple of days, and I'm... starting to get worried." There, she said it. She had to admit it eventually.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The frantic look that was still on his face proved that to be false. Not to mention... hey, there was something different about him, physically.

"Have... have your eyes always had that bit of yellow in them?" she asked, tilting her head to the side to get a better view. Sure enough, there were small, almost unnoticeable lines of yellow in his previously dark brown eyes.

Just before he could deny it and spout out some other crap excuse, Corrine showed up to save the day (unintentionally). "Josie, class! This'll be the fifth tardy this week!"

Josie rolled her eyes as she turned to face her roommate. "Serious business here, Corrine! So what if it's the fifth one for that class this week..."

"We're only two days into the week." Corrine's expression was totally serious. "I don't even know how it's possible, but you managed."

"Blame the 'hole." She pretty much ignored Corrine from then on, as she and Vaughn started for class (Corrine was nagging a little about how her attendance habits were rubbing off on Vaughn under her breath). The two of them lagged behind her considerably as she tried to pump information out of him.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine. I'm just... I've just got a cold, is all."

"Colds don't make peoples' eyes turn yellow, Vaughn," she whispered, shrugging to emphasize her point.

He was lost for a way out of that one, so he resorted to the oldest, least successful method known to man. "Look, I'm just not feeling so well. Leave me alone for a while." Vaughn picked up his pace until he passed Corrine, then hurriedly rounded into the doorway of the class. Now even Corrine was a little suspicious.

"Blame the 'hole?" she asked, once Josie had caught up with her in close enough range for them to talk about it discreetly. "Somehow I doubt Vaughn's really just sick. I mean, unless it's something like jaundice-"

"Like John? What?"

"It's a symptom of liver failure, commonly associated with alcoholism," she explained, "makes their skin turn yellow. It's pretty disgusting."

"Didn't need to know that..." Josie shuddered as they too entered the classroom. _There's nothing that makes peoples' eyes turn yellow like that, though_, she thought as she took her seat, assuming her normal 'bored' position. _Vaughn's hiding something again. After we promised to be honest with each other._ Hey, there was an idea. Guilt trip him into admitting it. She could tell there was a bit of partiality toward her anyway, why not use it to her advantage? So, that was what she planned to do.

* * *

"We promised, Vaughn."

"This isn't something I can just tell everyone about, Josie."

"So there _is_ something to tell, though!"

"No! No, there's not..." Vaughn failed miserably at lying, it seemed. As he and Josie were in his room, he was both subtly checking for ways out at night and trying to hide the reasons for it.

"Vaughn, _come on_. You can tell me." Josie sat on the edge of his bed as he was standing in the center of the room, fidgeting slightly. No, he couldn't. He couldn't tell her. Even if he didn't, though, if she somehow walked in on him while he was... doing that...

"I was... wondering how I could give this to you without it being weird." There we go. He'd spotted something he could give to her both to throw her off and to help him recognize her should he be a little too fargone around her. The thought never occured to him to do the same for the others, but then again, none of them were pestering him near as much.

Madison had left a bracelet in his dorm once when she had visited, and, seeing as how she didn't seem to miss it, he figured that would work perfectly. Just so long as Josie didn't recognize it, he was fine. He took it from his dresser (he never thought of moving it or anything) and held it up, to make sure she could see it. "This, I mean. I just, uh... figured you'd like it."

"... What is that doing in here, anyway?"

"My cousin left it," he answered without missing a beat. "She hasn't missed it, so..."

Josie shrugged, as if it really didn't matter where he got it, but obviously showed distaste for the bracelet itself. "You don't expect me to... wear it, do you?"

"Just... have it on you." Even as he said that, he grabbed her left wrist and thrust it on. He continued to hold her arm as he studied the bracelet itself, making sure he had its features memorized (it wasn't that hard; it was just a little pattern of silver circles). He remembered being able to distinguish small details better than a complete thing before, so he made sure that one stuck out in his mind.

"Uhm... why?" She had to admit, it was kind of nice that he was giving her something. Maybe he gave her that because he was used to dating the preppy cheerleaders rather than- Wait, _dating_? No, it was just a casual gift from a friend. Nothing more than that.

"Sentiment." Good enough, he figured. Seeing he was holding her arm for quite a bit longer than he meant, he released it with a bit of a blush. "I mean, just... keep it in your pocket or something. It might come in handy for something." Wow, that sounded terribly cliche.

His eyes wandered past her as she stammered some freaked-out thanks, and widened. Sunset. He needed to be getting out, while the moon was still just rising. Josie noticed his expression rather quickly. "Hey, Vaughn, you okay, or is your "cold" acting up again?"

"You need to leave," he said not-so-subtly, eyes wide as he started shoving her toward the door. He followed her out, shut the door behind him, and started for the school's exit.

"Where are you going?" Hey, couldn't blame a girl for being curious.

"My dad's," he called back, starting to pick up his pace. His stomach was turning now, and he felt his leg cramp. The first things that always happened before. "I forgot I was supposed to... meet with him about something." Sounded about right, she'd have to buy it.

And she did have to. She had no choice, seeing as how he was hurrying off. So with a frustrated sigh, she started back for her dorm, occasionally glancing back at the bracelet and smirking.

* * *

Neckties were the Devil's scarves. He was just making it deep enough into the woods where he wasn't worried about coming across someone, or vice versa, but the stupid tie was being difficult. The sky was blackening ever-so-slowly, and he could feel parts of him alter slightly.

After nearly strangling himself with the tie, Vaughn finally managed to get it off and proceeded next to the shirt. Honestly, school uniforms were the worst things ever to come from an administrator's mind. It should've been considered discrimination; werewolf students were pretty much left high and dry if they were in a hurry.

He'd felt it first as soon as he was done stripping down. His knees buckled beneath him, and he found himself on his hands and knees on the ground. Every bone in his body seemed to be reconfiguring itself, bending, breaking, cracking, stretching, shortening, sharpening, mending. When he felt something shoot out of his lower back, it took quite a bit not to turn around and look. He knew what was there, anyway. The dark brown fur on his tail soon spread, and his entire body seemed to just totally flip upside down. His ears lengthened and pointed, his entire face stretched until it wasn't recognizable, and his hands and feet, well... his feet were more of hindpaws, and his hands mostly changed but still seemed partly human.

Had he not been standing upright, one probably would've mistaken him for an actual, natural wolf. His eyes had even finally reverted to the goldish-yellow that had appeared in them before. He was just barely able to grasp a bit of what was going on, though unable to really control what his body did. All he could tell was that it was dark, there were trees, and what he'd feared the most was true - the werewolf in him was back.

As if to top it all off, he couldn't hold back the long howl that had been retained for eight years, even as a bit of a tear formed in one eye.

* * *

_Erilis: This chapter has been edited because Erilis made an epic spelling/biology FAIL in it. Thanks to the person who pointed this out to me. :3 Oh, and sorry there hasn't been an update in a while. Gimme a minute, major writer's block going on._


	3. Recovery

**Chatper 3: Recovery**

"Since when are there _coyotes_ here?!" Josie asked incredulously as she folded her pillow over her ears. Corrine rolled over in her bed also, staring rather angrily outside the window.

"There usually aren't," she muttered groggily, before falling back onto the pillow once more. "And if there were, they wouldn't be that long-winded."

As the long, morose howl finally ended, they both felt a bit of a chill. Now that they actually sat and reflected on it, it sounded a little... depressed. Sad. Meloncholy. But that was any coyote's howl, right? Any howl at all usually tended to sound sad. Still, there was just something in the air that made both of them feel like it were more than just a coyote. What, they had no idea, but they just knew...

"I can't sleep anyway," Josie admitted quietly, though loud enough for Corrine to hear. "You?"

"I was sleeping well, actually," her roommate muttered, but sat up in her bed anyway. Josie did as well, and, unlike Corrine, felt little concern over how their hair was oh-so-misplaced. "I was, anyway, until that thing started going on."

Corrine's eyes wandered around the room, until the bracelet Josie had worn into the room caught her eye. She'd rested it on the nightstand, apparently taking Vaughn's suggestion to "keep it on her" rather lightly. "So, are you guys... official?"

At first, Josie seemed confused, but she understood quickly. "Oh, that. No, we're... what made you think that?"

Corrine just shrugged, smiling innocently. "Oh, so does that mean you and Marshall are official?" Josie retorted, nodding to the textbook Corrine had bummed off him earlier in the week.

"No, it just means I need to find that book," she answered, glancing at the book and back again. "Look, Josie, I'm going to try to sleep again. I think the coyote's gone, so..." She didn't get much further than that, since she'd passed out on her pillow right as she started the sentence.

While Corrine snoozed away, Josie fingered the bracelet a while out of sheer boredom. Her thoughts kept going back to Vaughn, and how he'd been acting strangely the past couple of days. The yellow lines in his eyes, the way he constantly complained about things being too loud, or smells being too strong, all of it just kept running laps in her mind. Not only all of that, but also that howl. The howl had, for some reason, reminded her of him. But what did a coyote howling have to do with Vaughn...?

It took a while, but eventually she too fell asleep.

* * *

The smell of grass and leaves everywhere was the first thing that woke him, the next being the wet dew all over the place, and his accidental inhaling of it. After choking a moment, he finally opened his eyes, now perfectly normal brown again, and tried to see where he was. The school was visible from where he stood; he'd come too close.

It took a while of retracing his steps, but he finally managed to find his clothes from the night before. Vaughn's back popped a little as he bent down to get them, a painful reminder that every part of him had been different that night. A few open cuts where he'd gotten caught on a briar or two were on his arms and legs, and his entire body lagged with fatigue. That was the reason it took him quite a while to get back into his clothes.

He held his hand over his eyes to shield them from the morning sunlight, and he stopped to breathe every few feet he walked. This werewolf thing was certainly draining, much more so than it used to be.

After he'd figured out which way was the closest to the school, he started noticing a few things. Birds were a lot louder than they had been, even in the previous days. Little rodents were abundant, particularly squirrels. That was the first major scare; as he passed by one, his stomach flopped about. Wait, that night, had he...

Dear God, he'd eaten a squirrel. "Well... at least no one's hurt." That was a reassuring thought, actually; then again, it was brought back down by the afterthought, _that I know of_. Even as his head ached again, he couldn't help but want to remember what had happened. Honestly, he felt like he was hung over or something.

The tie in his right hand and his left shoved in his pocket, he tried not to panic when he realized there was something on his chin. Just the smell of it - as if feeling it wasn't bad enough, he was able to smell it now - told him it was the blood of the poor unfortunate rodent he'd made quick work of the night before. It wasn't terribly hard to remove, but the thought of it still lingered on his mind. If he tried hard enough, he could barely recall seeing it on the ground just before he...

The school was in sight now. He had to get rid of those thoughts, those strange, feral thoughts that plagued his mind all of a sudden. This werewolf wasn't going to let it die, that was certain...

After painfully climbing the fence, he hurried back to his dorm to try to get a bit of sleep before classtime. He'd have to call his father, to warn him about what was going on. How would his father react to the news? He didn't seem happy about the mere thought of the werewolf returning, so who really knew?

Just before he could reach his door, Josie's hand clamped onto his shoulder, and he cringed and whined with a bit of pain. Though he shut his eyes, he could plainly tell it was her - not only from the grip, but from her scent. Possibly the worst part of that situation was that he actually _enjoyed _the scent he detected for her... He didn't need to drag her into this nightmare of his.

"Where are you going? It's time for class, there's no point in going to bed." Of course, she would be late. As was he - but he decided he wasn't going in that day.

"Look, Josie, I'm... kinda tired, and..."

"Why? I mean, you slept like you did any other night, didn't you?" Obviously she was a little irritated about something. What else was new?

"Not... not exactly." This excuse would be easy. "Couldn't sleep last night. Y'know. Headaches and stuff."

"Tylenol always knocked me out. Did you try that?"

"That stuff doesn't work for me," he said, feeling half triumphant. Well, she seemed to believe him so far. "But... hey, why aren't you going to class?"

"Uhh... I'm sort of on my way." Her hands on her hips, a bit of a mischeivous look crossed her face. Mmhm. Sure she was. "But yeah. Hope you feel better, I guess." She seemed a little defeated, like she were expecting to foil his little secret. "See you around." She turned and started off, noticeably not in the direction of the class they had at that time (if he was even guessing the time correctly).

Feeling rather pleased with himself, he hurriedly slid into his dorm, falling onto the bed as soon as he reached it. The familiar scent of his room was comforting, as well as the thought that, the last time he'd been in there, he'd been totally human. It was almost strange, how prominent his own scent was now.

Vaughn could've fallen asleep right there, legs hanging off the side of the bed and his body draped across the width of the bed rather than the length, but the sudden aching in his back made him try to drag himself farther up. His legs had given out; could he even feel them now? It was like they were asleep or something, how he couldn't even tell if they were moving when he tried. With enough struggling, however, he finally managed to roll onto his sore back, his neck and head supported by the pillow. It didn't take five seconds for him to finally drift off into happydreamtimefunland.

* * *

"Vaughn's still acting funny," Lucas pointed out at the lunch table upon noticing that the person in question hadn't been in any classes that day, "I didn't think he had it in him, to miss school and risk his dad getting upset."

"Well, might be turning over a new leaf," Marshall suggested, shrugging as he poked the shapeless glob on his plate with a fork. "One that's oddly remeniscent of someone else."

"Hey guys, you seen Vaughn anywhere?" Josie asked as if on cue, after she'd come into the cafeteria from her last class (and last lecture on how tardiness wasn't appreciated). "I haven't seen him since this morning, and I'm getting a little worried."

"This morning?" Corrine questioned, deciding to skip the whole lecture thing herself in favor of this more interesting subject. "When did you see him?"

"He was leaving his room... or going back in, I don't know. I hadn't really been thinking straight then. He looked... he looked pretty rough." Josie cringed a little as she remembered how he'd appeared, most of all how... how there was some kind of a wild look in his eyes. He seemed tired, but at the same time... oddly awake.

"Hey guys." The ones sitting with their back to the entrance suddenly wheeled about, their eyes fastened on Vaughn as he approached them. His gait was the first obvious difference; for some reason, Vaughn walked like he were oddly more confident in himself than before, like he felt a reason to be superior. His head was tilted back ever-so-slightly, and a wry grin took the place of a usually somewhat clueless look he tended to keep. The thin gold lines were back in his eyes, although instead of making him appear strange and sick, they now seemed to compliment this new boldness. As if nothing were really different, he stole a seat from a table behind them and pulled it up, only very fortunate that it wasn't already someone else's.

"Uh... Vaughn?" Josie started, though finally just kind of gave up. The weird burst of confidence was kind of... attractive, in her eyes. Wait, focus, let's not get carried away. "You look... better. What's up?"

Vaughn shrugged, like it wasn't really anything. "I dunno. Just... awake or something." He closed his eyes and breathed in a moment, that little smirk never really leaving his face as he did so. "What've we got today, anyway? Smells like... stuff from last week."

"I think it is," Marshall murmured, a look of pure disgust crossing his face as he prodded it again. "It's not Jell-O, I'm sure, but... it moves like it."

"So," Lucas began, eager to get to the interrogation part of every fanfic/episode/whatever, "where've you been all day? Z's been a little worried."

Vaughn shrugged nonchalantly, not a trace of anxiety or anything anywhere on his face. "Just got sick this morning. I felt better, so I figured I might as well finish the day out." He was definitely in the mood for messing around with Lucas, judging from the sudden glint in his eyes. "Don't tell me you're worried about me too."

The other four raised a brow at his comment, though Lucas seemed to be the only one that didn't actually get it. "What do you mean?"

"I think it's obvious you're more worried than you act." Vaughn was definitely brave today.

Marshall shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Today just got a lot gayer."

At that comment Lucas finally figured it out, but Vaughn shut up. The lunch period was over, and it was time to start heading to class. While he stood out of his chair, Josie hurriedly attached herself to his hip (figuratively, of course) and tried to get some answers.

"You're feeling better," she said, stating the obvious, "what's with you today? Get jacked up on something while you were in bed?"

Whatever this was certainly affected his mind; he chuckled a little at her mentioning the phrase "in bed" before answering. "No, I just felt better. People do that, y'know."

"Well... you're doing it wrong."

"There's a wrong way to get better?" he asked, rolling his eyes slightly. "Josie, that's stupid. There's nothing wrong, I just got sick and now I'm all... recovered, I guess. It's no big deal."

Josie rolled her own eyes, and glared up at him (stupid tall people). "Oh yeah, no big deal. Your eyes have just changed color and you've had the biggest mood swing a guy's ever experienced. Why don't you just give me a straight answer?"

The two stopped outside their next class, just close enough to speak without being heard by the entire student body (and to hear each other over the entire student body). It was definitely going to start more rumors than there aleady were. Or maybe not, considering Vaughn seemed way more irritated than Josie was, and niether of them appeared happy about anything.

"Josie, it's... it's not something I _can_ give a straight answer on," he whispered, deciding he would at least try to calm her down. "If I really knew, I'd let you know."

"Vaughn, what happened to our little pact?"

"I know, we made that stupid deal, but..." He anxiously rubbed the back of his neck, and glanced back around at the people that passed them by. "This one doesn't count."

"Doesn't count?" Josie repeated, somewhat dumbfounded. "Why wouldn't it count? We decided on it just so we didn't have to like... be our own crying shoulders and stuff."

"It just doesn't count, Josie." The firmness in Vaughn's voice was indisputable. After that statement he backed off and made his way inside the classroom.

So Vaughn was hiding something. Something big, evidently... but why not share it?

_Totally about to be continued..._

* * *

_Erilis: So I totally got to update today. Isn't that great?_

_Diego: And with a rather crappy chapter. At least you fixed that thing in the last one... epic PHAIL in spelling and biology, much?_

_Erilis: ' Again, thanks to the person that pointed that out to me. Read 'n Review!_


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